Info (TFTD)

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Info

Terror From The Deep (TFTD) is the sequel to UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM: UFO Defense. It continues the story 40 years from where the last game left off with a new enemy appearing from the seas. The new attacks result in X-COM being resurrected to handle the new threat. With obvious inspiration taken from the works of science fiction authors such as Jules Verne and particularly H.P. Lovecraft, the game has a creepy and perhaps even more alien atmosphere.

Terror from the Deep is built on the same game engine as UFO Defense. On the surface it appears to be a straight graphic and sound replacement with a few new gimmicks such as underwater restrictions, door opening and melee weapons. There are in fact many internal changes - such as how weapon damage rolls are calculated - that allow TFTD to stand apart from its predecessor and not simply be a clone. Game play is just as challenging as it was in first title but is particularly rough on players at the beginning.

As a bid to cash in on the unexpected success of its predecessor, a new development team quickly put together TFTD while the team that developed UFO Defense moved on to make X-COM: Apocalypse. As TFTD was rushed, many programming errors as well as storyline inconsistencies were left in the conversion. Though the game is still playable, it does not allow for a very smooth ride for the player without some assistance or research.

Note: X-COM Wiki contains extensive data about X-COM UFO. A large portion of the content covered in UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM: UFO Defense will apply to TFTD as well, with TFTD-specific information highlighted where appropriate.

Demo Text

The following intro and outro text is from the demo version of Terror From The Deep.

Intro:

Cydonia crumbles, the Aliens have been destroyed, banished from the Solar
system. Mars is cleansed and the Earth saved by a triumphant X-Com.
But the mighty Alien war machine, even in its death throes, reaches across
the void to awaken an ancient, sleeping, enemy.
Deep in the world's oceans things begin to stir. Vast, dormant, computers
flicker into life and an ancient enemy awakens.

Dateline January 2nd 2040:
X-Com has long been disbanded, the world has changed. An ineffectual
UN stands on the brink of collapse as an undreamt of horror rises from the
oceans. Attacking only sea based sites at first, the insidious Alien threat
begins to drain resources from around the world. Ever bolder the aquatic
army begins to march upon the land, a hastily reformed X-Com finds itself
pitted against a wise and powerful foe. The depths hold terrors that have
lurked on the brink of human consciousness for aeons.
Be afraid, the deep ones are coming, the Alien awakes.

Launch powerful intercept subs to scour the globe for Alien
activity. X-Com employs the latest dual mode flying subs, from noted
manufacturers SUB-AM and British Hydrospace. The powerful Barracuda
is one of the key craft in our front line defences against the Aliens. Once
an Alien sub has been forced down send in the enormous Triton submarines
loaded with combat hardened aquanauts and state of the art weapons.

X-Com will have to counter these Aliens with new technology:
weapons for aquatic warfare, flying submarines, and floating bases round
the world. Encounter alien vessels as they race through the seas, recover
advanced alien technology and battle strange sea dwelling creatures. Guide
X-Com aquanauts through numerous aquatic terrains and land attack sites
as the Aliens strive to pillage the world before unleashing their final assault.

Outro:

The battle has only just begun, the Aliens are prepared to fight hard
to claim the Earth for their own. Use the World's resources and the
latest technologies to arm yourself in the war to end all wars.
As the action unfolds you get the chance to research Alien technology and
strategies. The fully equipped floating X-COM bases are able to
manufacture new equipment to meet the challenge of the vast Alien
invasion. Develop a crack team of aquanauts and discover the truth behind
the Alien plot. Explore the ocean depths from the warm corals of Australia
to the impenetrable cold of the Arctic Ocean.
No Alien world could be as strange and deadly as the oceans of Earth
and no horror more shocking than the grisly Alien plan.